Bacon and Brown Sugar Wrapped Smokies

Do you need an appetizer idea for the football games this weekend? I made these over New Years and had trouble getting a picture because family members were getting impatient to get some. Sausages, bacon and brown sugar- what's not to love. While they aren't going to be the healthiest appetizer, they definitely will be devoured as they are very addictive. We couldn't stay out of them! Here's the recipe.

Bacon and Brown Sugar Wrapped Lil Smokies

1 package Lil Smokies sausages, beef or pork - I used Hillshire Farms Beef sausages
bacon slices, cut into thirds
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
toothpicks

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut your bacon slices into 3 equal portions. Wrap each sausage with a piece of bacon and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sausage and bacon. Scatter the brown sugar over the sausages. I made sure there was a little heap of brown sugar on each one. Place into the oven and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the whole pan of sausages is bubbly. Remove pan from oven. Place a toothpick in each sausage and place appetizers on a serving tray. These will delicious either hot or room temperature. Enjoy!
NOTE: Most recipes I've seen for these say to put toothpicks in the sausages before baking, but they get very messy, so I tried waiting until after they were baked and the sausages did just fine.

Sausage and Cornbread Dressing

 I love dressing. It is one of my favorite components of Thanksgiving dinner. I like it better than turkey. I'll even take it over mashed potatoes. For me, dressing is on the same level as homemade cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and apple pie.
I've always made an all bread stuffing, but I have memories of eating a super delicious cornbread stuffing years ago at a church dinner. This Cook's Country recipe is wonderful, perfect in almost every way, and reminded me of that long ago dressing. You need to make the corn bread a couple of days ahead, to cut down on food preparations on the big day. I made only half the recipe, because a 9x13 pan is way too much for just my hubby and me. He stills prefers a bread stuffing, but I have been in heaven with this stuff. Even though this recipe contains sausage, the dressing would be equally delicious without the meat. I did double the sage and  I added alittle bit of sugar (gasp!) to the cornbread recipe. I'm one of those people that like some sweetness to the cornbread. Here's the full recipe, for the cornbread, and then the dressing, with my changes added.

Sausage and Cornbread Stuffing
Slightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country.
Cornbread can be made up to 2 days ahead to have time to stale.

Cornbread Recipe:
2 2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
4 large eggs
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar- my addition

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, and oil. In another bowl combine, flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, whisking until smooth.
2. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden and toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan.
3. If the cornbread is made 2 days in advance, you may not need to oven-dry the cornbread. If using freshly baked cornbread, cut cooled bread into 1 inch cubes and place on 2 baking sheets. Place pans in a250 degree oven for about 50-60 minutes. Cool.

DRESSING:
1 1/2 pounds bulk pork sausage- I used Jimmy Dean
2 onions, finely chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped-- the recipe calls for 3 ribs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves minced garlic- recipe calls for 4 cloves
2 teaspoons dried sage- Recipe calls for 1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme- recipe calls for 1 teaspoon thyme
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth- I needed a little more
1 cup half and half
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper- recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon

1. Cook sausage in a skillet over medium high heat, but turn heat down if it begins to burn. Transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate, reserving 2 tablespoons of grease in the skillet and adding 2 tablespoons of butter also. I did not have hardly any grease, so I added 4 of the tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Add the onion and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sage, thyme and garlic to the pan and saute about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, and remove the pan from the heat. Cool about 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half and half, salt and cayenne. Slowly stir in the warm broth mixture. Fold  in the cubed cornbread and the cooked sausage. Let the mixture sit, tossing occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour the dressing mixture into the pan and drizzle with the leftover melted butter. I forgot to do that and didn't really miss it, but more butter is great in stuffing. The dressing still came out golden and delicious. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and crisp. Serve and enjoy.

Are you a fan of cornbread dressing, or do you prefer a bread dressing?

Skillet Lasagna

I needed a quick, hearty and tasty meal last night. My husband had been shoveling snow a big part of the day, and I had helped some also, so I wanted something easy to prepare. I had been wanting to make Skillet Lasagna for a while, and I had most of the ingredients needed. The original recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated, so I was reasonably sure it would be good. It was; this lasagna has a wonderful Italian flavor! The whole dish is assembled and cooked in a large skillet and ready to eat in 30-40 minutes, depending on how fast you are. All the flavor of a delicious lasagna, but this dish is so much faster to prepare. The recipe calls for a mix of ground beef and ground pork. I replaced the pork with Italian sausage since I had it on hand. It added great depth of flavor to this dish. You gotta try it! Here's the recipe that I found at Apples and Twinkies.

SKILLET LASAGNA

adapted from Apples and Twinkies and Cook's Illustrated

3 cans (14.5 oz.) whole, peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 medium garlic cloves, pressed- I only used 2

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes- I used a pinch

1/2 pound of ground round beef

1/2 pound ground Italian sausage

10 curly edge lasagna noodles- it is NOT recommended that no-bake noodles be used

1/2 cup (2 ounces) mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

pepper to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

3/4 cup full fat ricotta cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Pour the 3 cans of tomatoes into a blender or food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Heat oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet. Add diced onion and salt and cook until softened; stir in garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meats; break up the meat as it cooks. Drain grease from skillet if needed.

Break the lasagna noodles into 2 inch pieces and scatter over the meat in the skillet. Pour the tomatoes over the noodles and sprinkle with the dried basil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (I used a stainless steel skillet, so I stirred the lasagna a couple of times to keep the noodles from sticking).

When done, remove the pan from the burner. Carefully stir the mixture together, taste and add pepper to taste; more salt if needed. Lightly stir in half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan cheeses. Sprinkle the rest of the shredded cheeses over the top. Spoon the ricotta cheese in spoonfuls over the lasagna. Cover skillet with lid and let the cheese melt. I added some chopped fresh parsley also. Serve with some garlic bread and salad if desired. My husband and daughter loved it-it got 2 thumbs up, so I'll be making it again often. Let me know if you give this a try!

Meat Sauce for Pasta- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Well, I didn't get this posted this morning like I had hoped as I had interruptions. Does anyone else have interruptions that keep you from doing what you need or want to do? Of course, we all do. Life happens and we must go with the flow, either that or get ulcers! But here is my recipe for luscious Meat Sauce for Pasta. I use both lean ground beef and some Italian pork sausage which gives this meat sauce a wonderful, rich flavor that my family loves. I am definitely not Italian, nor do I claim that this sauce is either. It's just good meat sauce that I have made for many years that is robust with flavor and makes for very satisfying meals! So to start,

add 1 pound ground round and 1/2 pound Italian pork sausage to skillet on medium high heat and brown it, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks. The sausage is harder to break into smaller pieces, but you can do it, just keep trying! Drain off fat if there is any. Season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder. You'll add this to the sauce in a moment. In a stock pot or soup pot,

add about 2 Tbs. of olive oil and heat on medium. When hot, add 1 diced onion and 1/2 green bell pepper, if desired. I don't always add the bell pepper. Cook until soft, 5 minutes or so, and then add 1-2 minced garlic cloves and some more olive oil, maybe 1 or 2 more Tbs. Stir for just a bit, don't let the garlic get too brown, just soft. Now add in 2 cans crushed tomatoes, 2 cans tomato paste and 4 cups of water. Stir well and then add the meat to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover pot with a lid and cook on low for at least 1 1/2 -2 hours. Cooking it a little longer will not hurt. Stir every so often, and break up any large pieces of meat you may find.

Don't add the spices until the sauce is almost done. Spices lose flavor if cooked too long. When sauce is almost done check to see if you like the consistency. If it's thicker than you like, add a little more water. If the sauce is too thin cook it down a little with the lid off. When ready I add 1 tsp. oregano, 1&1/2 tsp. basil, 1/2 tsp. salt, pepper to taste and 1 Tbs. sugar. This time I also added 3 sprigs of thyme, which I have in the freezer. Can't wait to plant more herbs this spring! Now you're ready to make my Cheese Stuffed Shells with Meat Sauce , pictured below, that I posted yesterday! You'll need 3-4 cups of sauce for this dish. Or use this sauce for any other pasta. This recipe makes about 8 cups of sauce, so I froze what was left.

I have based this recipe on one my Mother used. If you need a meatless sauce, just omit the meat part and start with browning the onions. This is what I do when making spaghetti and meatballs.

Meat Sauce for Pasta

1 pound lean ground beef, I use gr. round

1/2 pound Italian pork sausage

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced, optional

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

3-4 Tbs. olive oil

2- 15oz. cans of crushed tomatoes, or diced is fine

2- 6oz. cans of tomato paste

about 4 cups water

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 &1/2 tsp. dried basil,

1/2 tsp. salt

pepper, to taste
1 Tbs. sugar, optional

1/2 tsp. thyme, optional

In a skillet brown the ground beef and sausage together, breaking up chunks with spoon.

Drain fat, if any. In a large pot, in 2 Tbs. olive oil, cook the diced onion and bell pepper until soft. Add in the minced garlic and another Tbs. or so of olive oil. Stir until garlic is softened and then add the 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato paste, all of the meat and 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer,then turn to low heat and cover with lid. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, at least. This makes the meat tender and develops the sauce. Stir every so often and if necessary, add more water. When sauce is done add the oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar and thyme, if using. Stir well and simmer maybe 15 minutes more. If sauce is too thick, add more water. If it's too thin, cook it down some without the lid. This is not an exact science here, I go by taste and by what the sauce looks like. If you think it needs more basil or salt, for instance, add it in. And if I have fresh herbs from my garden, I use them in place of the dried. So, go make pasta for dinner one night this week. Your kitchen will be filled with the most wonderful aroma, and your family will love you! If they like pasta, that is! Pasta is something my whole family enjoys. Even when the kids were young, picky eaters, they would eat pasta with meat sauce. Do you eat pasta very often?

Polish Sausage and Peppers

My husband is home everyday for lunch and not for dinner, because of the hours he works. In the evening, I usually have 1 or 2 of our children here to eat. They are in the college age and working stage of their lives, so sometimes one, or both may give me a call saying they won't be here for dinner. At least they call! What I'm trying to say is that it won't be too long until I will be cooking for two most of the time, unless it's Sunday dinner after church when all three kids are almost always here! Today for lunch I made Polish Sausage and Peppers, and served it over rice. I've made this before and it's quite versatile, as you can substitute sausage made with turkey or chicken, or even Italian sausage. I've served it over either white or brown rice, or pasta, and it's good both ways. Today, I made just enough for 2 servings, so you may have to increase the amounts if you are feeding more people.

Polish Sausage and Peppers

You will need 1/2 pound of rope Polish Sausage, sliced in about 1/2 inch slices; 1/2 of a green bell pepper, cut into strips; 1/2 of a yellow bell pepper cut into strips; 1/2 of a red onion, sliced, and 1 Roma tomato, coarsely chopped.

I used 1/2 cup of rice to 1 cup of water or broth and combined in a sauce pan. Add 1 teaspoon oil and simmer, covered for 15 min. Remove from heat. It will continue to steam while your finishing the sausage and peppers. In a skillet in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, lightly brown the sausage for 2 or 3 minutes and then add the peppers and the onion and stir. Add a couple of tablespoons of water or broth and cover skillet with lid. Let simmer for about 5 minutes and then check to see if the peppers are as tender as you want them and make sure the skillet is not dry. You want a little bit of liquid to use on the rice. Add the chopped tomato and give it a stir and cook until tomato is heated through. I did not use salt or pepper because the meat was salty and plenty spicy. Serve over rice or pasta. This takes only about 20 minutes to prepare!
This can also be served on toasted hoagie rolls with melted cheese for a great sandwich!